Winnetka considers fire sprinklers for all commercial buildings

Winnetka officials are considering a proposal that would require all commercial buildings to be equipped with fire sprinklers within five years.

The village passed an ordinance in 1977 requiring that sprinklers be installed in commercial buildings when there is a change of use at a location, such as a medical office being converted to a retail store, according to Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky.

The new proposal would broaden that to require owners or tenants to put sprinklers in all commercial buildings, including private schools.

Since the 1977 ordinance went into effect, many businesses have installed fire sprinklers, Berkowsky said, including 64 percent of those located in the village's West Elm business district.

In pushing for the new proposal, Berkowsky expressed particular concern about older buildings. He noted that a fire in February at a storefront restaurant in a historic building in downtown Mount Prospect quickly spread to adjacent businesses.

"When you lose a block like that, it has a long-term impact," Berkowsky said.

In addition, Berkowsky said recent research by Northbrook-based Underwriters Laboratories found that today's commercial buildings are often filled with furnishings made of synthetics and polyurethane-based products that are highly flammable.

He said part of the research found old-style "legacy" furnishings made of sawn lumber and natural fibers would often smolder for as long 29 minutes before hitting the point of "flashover," when an entire room would erupt in flames.Modern day furnishings often hit the flashover point in less than five minutes, Berkowsky said.

He added that if a venue is equipped with fire sprinklers, the blaze would likely be extinguished before it hits its flashover, and also limit the smoke damage to the building.

At a recent Winnetka Village Council meeting, building owner Glenn Weaver told officials that the proposed fire sprinkler ordinance would come with a steep cost and prove prohibitive for both landlords and tenants.

"Downtown Winnetka is a train wreck. … There's all this vacant property because the village is not business-friendly," Weaver said. "This shows a complete breach of trust with the community and an intellectually bankrupt leadership that is unwilling to face facts — the fire department can be anywhere in the village in three minutes."

But resident Marc Hecht told officials he supports the village taking a leadership role on the fire sprinkler issue.

"Thirty-seven years should have been enough time to phase this in," Hecht said. "All we need is one mistake to show how it would be a terrible decision not to go forward with this. If other towns on the North Shore are waiting to see what Winnetka does, Winnetka ought to do the right thing."

Joshua Hucker, life safety plans examiner and fire inspector in Lake Forest, said officials there are updating a city ordinance enacted in 1991, including a requirement that fire sprinklers be installed not only for a change of use, but also when a building owner or tenant is making significant modifications, for example, installing new electrical and HVAC systems.

"Our downtown Market Square business district is in an historic structure, and we need to protect spaces like that," said Hucker, who said roughly 90 percent of the city's commercial buildings already have fire sprinklers.